Cape Town – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has declared Lesotho's parliamentary elections held over the weekend as free, fair and credible.
Saturday's polls, which were called two years ahead of schedule, passed without incident, according to observers.
SABC reported on Monday that the head of mission and South Africa's international relations minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, urged all stakeholders to accept the outcome of the vote or challenge it within the provisions of the country's laws.
Mashabane called for security to be monitored, saying police should maintain law and order without bias.
"The role of the police is to maintain law and order without biasness and the SADC confirm that Lesotho police complied and the army as well," Mashabane was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, reports on Sunday said early results showed Prime Minister Tom Thabane in the lead, with a quarter of the vote tallied.
The small mountain kingdom has been in crisis since June 2014, when Thabane suspended parliament to avoid a motion that would have seen him ousted from power after his fragile coalition government fell apart.
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